Stormwater, runoff, and pollution

• • Sewage

    • Spills from treatment centers and pipes

    • Home cesspools

  • Trash and plastic pollution

    • Community clean-ups

    • Street sweeping

      • Hiring

      • Scheduling

      • Partial parking ban

    • Reduce plastic use

    • Storm drains, culverts and channels

      • Cleaning and maintenance schedules

  • Landscaping

    • Biodegradable soaps

    • Organic pesticides/fertilizers

    • Rain Gardens/Xeriscaping

  • Construction

    • Enforcement of BMPS (construction stormwater best management practices)

Main locations of concern

• Kailua Wastewater treatment plant

  • exceeding capacity

  • concern about possibility of cracks in outfall pipe

• Kaimalino neighborhood cesspools

  • how to speed up rate of conversion

• Kapaa Quarry

• Kapaa -- closed landfills

  • leaching and pollution

• Kapaa Industrial Park

  • runoff

• Kaopa silt basin

  • no longer working as intended to settle out dirt and runoff

• Ka'elepulu /Enchanted Lakes

  • needs dredging after years of runoff buildup

Drinking Water

• • PFAS/AFFF/Forever chemicals

  • Water conservation

    • Home water use

    • Military

    • Commercial use (golf courses and other landscaping)

    • Rain catchment systems

Ecosystems

• • Scheduled opening of the berm Kaelepulu canal

    • Water circulation

    • Flood control

  • Re-connection of the Kawainui and Kaelepulu watershed

    • Recent CIP passed to reconnect the water flow that was cut off when the levee was built

  • Climate change

    • Sea level rise

  • Stream maintenance

  • Ocean health

    • Brown water advisories in Kailua bay

    • Bacterial and viral count

      1. Possibility of infection and illness

    • Fish and coral reef health

      1. sedimentation and excess nutrients killing coral reefs

      2. healthy fish populations

    • Dune erosion

  • Wetland protection

    • "Kawainui Marsh was recognized as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2005 for its historical, biological, and cultural significance. The wetland encompasses around 830 acres of land and is the largest remaining wetland in the state of Hawai‘i."

    • As invasive species take over and build up, less slowing/filtering/absorption of water running into the marsh

    • Mangroves/Invasive plants

    • Clog the waterways, increase bacteria levels as Hawaii doesn't have the tidal range as where mangroves are naturally found